Planting – How Many Of Which Type Of Plants?
For a site that has no trees and aims to minimise weeding by attaining close to full native cover of plants in a few years:
- Estimate the area, how many sq m for your site
- Allow 1 gum tree for 25 sq m – that means planting them about 5m apart.
- Each tree gets the full range of plant forms – 2 wattle trees, 5 shrubs, 10 daisies/lilies/smaller plants, 25, grasses, 25 ground hugging spreaders
- Total 68 plants per 25 sq m or 2-3 plants per sq m
- Numbers are approximate, not critical, but the variety IS very important
Summary per 100 sq m: 272 plants
4 gum trees, 8 wattles,20 shrubs, 40 daisies etc, 100 grasses, 100 spreaders
or by plant numbers: 750 plants covers about 270 sq m or about 10 gum trees
KEEP IN MIND THAT the more grasses and ground hugging spreaders that go in, the sooner there will be less weeding.
BUT the gum trees need a balanced ecosystem, so the site planting needs more lilies, daisies and smaller plants in the long term!!
later plantings to put in to increase biodiversity:
daisies, lilies, smaller plants like bluebells etc
If the site already has mature trees:
the tree will take most of the water in the area under it’s canopy. Plant densely with all the varieties a few meters out from the base of the tree. In time the seeds thrown by the plants will establish themselves in the dryer area.